Sesame Teff Lavosh (B&P#24)

Baking & Pastry Project #24 - Lavosh

I discovered a new way to upset a 13 year old guy... Take him into a dance store while a group of 14 to 15 year old girls get fitted for pointe shoes. To increase his torment, make sure it is a store that recently received all their new fall stock. Not the place to be if you don't like pink and frilly things.

The action was a little over the top with teenage girls flitting here and there looking for a spot at the barre. Legs flying up in different ballet positions, so they could check out the fit of the shoes. You had to be careful where you walked so you didn't get hit by flying feet or run into a racks filled with leotards, sweaters and leg warmers while dodging the dancing bodies.

It took almost an hour later, but finally we were able to walk out with a couple of lined leotards and a new pair of ballet slippers. I was last out of the door and when I caught up with my kids, my son was grousing under his breath and my daughter agreeing with him. When she saw me and said, "Mom, there was too much pink in there. It was going crazy!"

I did make it up to them this week. Their pottery class in wheel throwing started at the art school. Two hours of getting dirty, slinging clay and creating something with your hands. After two hours they bounced out of the classroom filled with stories and covered in drying clay. My taller than me son, put his arm around me and said, "Thanks for signing me up. This was great! It was so cool when I lost control of my pot and it slung off the wheel and hit the wall! Then I exploded my best pot when I put too much water on it." He bounced away from me throwing out his arms and cried, "That's how I got like this!" All I could think of was the line from the movie Madagascar, where the chimpanzees and other animals are in Grand Central Station surrounded by police and animal control. "If you have poo fling it now." Nothing like playing in the mud to put a smile on your face.

With that smile in mind, my family thoroughly enjoyed this sheet of lavosh. My daughter created a plate of antipasto and placed a few chunks of lavosh on it. My son ate it with some German Bauernschnicken (a nice cured German ham) that we were trying out. My husband and I broke out the Uniekaas cheese, olives and a glass of red wine to enjoy our lavosh.  There was even enough left over for the kids to enjoy as a late snack.

Recipe

Yield: 1 sheet lavosh

Protein Content:
Original Amount: 21.34 g
GF Amount: 20.81 g

15 g sweet rice flour (0.9 g)
15 g arrowroot starch (.045 g)
18 g millet flour (2.07 g)
28 g white bean flour (6.02 g)
6 g chia seed meal (1.26 g)
__________________________replacement for bread flour
10 g sesame seed flour (2.55 g)
10 g sweet rice flour (2.06 g)
16 g arrowroot starch (0.048 g)
__________________________ replacement for durum flour
10 g brown rice flour (1.4 g)
10 g sweet rice flour (0.73 g)
10 g arrowroot starch (0.03 g)
__________________________replacement for cake flour
20 g ivory teff flour (1.1 g)
10 g Montina flour (0.7 g)
__________________________replacement for wheat flour
11 g instant dry yeast
9 g sea salt
4 g agar agar powder
25 - 30 ml agave syrup
80 ml whole milk, room temperature
55 ml water
6 g molasses
6 g honey
olive oil
seeds of your choice or coarse salt

1. Put the dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir together. In medium bowl pour in the liquid ingredients and mix together. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry and thoroughly blend.

2. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and sprinkle sweet rice flour or arrowroot starch on the paper. Place the lavosh dough in the center of the parchment paper and sprinkle with sweet rice or arrowroot starch. Dipping your fingers into the flour pat the dough out with your fingers until it is 1/16 in/1.5 mm thick or you can sprinkle the dough with starch and then place a sheet of parchment paper on top. Roll out the dough until it is 1/16 in/1.15 mm thick and rectangular in shape.

3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F/204 degrees C. Allow the lavosh dough to rest 15 to 20 minutes before spreading the top with olive oil and sprinkling with seeds or coarse salt. Bake for 7 to 14 minutes, depending on how thin you were able to get your dough.  Cool completely on a rack before serving.

Pizza (B&P23)

Baking & Pastry Project #23 - Pizza

We just completed a rushed trip to Virginia. My husband had to work in Rosslyn for a little over a week. It is challenging getting everyone ready for a trip, especially since three of us eat gluten free...well, four if you include our dog.

We always stay in a hotel chain that has a kitchen, plus one that allows pets. So, I take along a bag of supplies and my knife kit. This is what I pack for our trips:

- Cookie Sheet
- Cutting Board
- Baking Stone & Rack
- Knife Kit
- Wooden Spoon
- Wooden Spatula
- Metal Spatula
- Thermometer
- Scissors
- Jar Opener
- Measuring Cup (Metric)
- Measuring Spoons
- Silicone Muffin Cups
- Coffee & Filters
- Tea Bags
- Agave Syrup
- Olive Oil
- White Vinegar
- Vanilla Extract
- An Assortment of GF Flours
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Pepper
- Parchment Paper
- Aluminum Foil
- Optional: Escali Scale, Belgian Waffle Iron

I have a note file on my Blackberry that has all our favorite recipes. I've also made another note file that has a shopping list based on these recipes.

Depending on our travel location, I do as much research as I can about gluten free dining out options, along with locations for grocery shopping. This information I keep on my computer, but transfer it over to my Blackberry before we head out.

This was a great pizza and was hotel kitchen worthy as well. It had a fabulous crust and was browned and crispy just like a pizzeria style pizza. This recipe got 4 thumbs up from my crowd.

Recipe

Yield: 2 medium pizzas
Protein Content:
Original Bread Flour: 19.65 g
Original Durum Flour: 14.3 g
GF Bread-like Flour: 19.225 g
GF Durum-like Flour: 14.15 g

Durum-like Flour Mix

70 g brown rice flour (3.18 g)
30 g sweet rice flour (6.18 g)
30 g arrowroot starch (.09 g)
10 g white bean flour (2.15 g)
10 g sesame seed flour (2.55 g)
______________________
Bread-like Flour Mix

15 g brown rice flour (1.35 g)
18 g sweet rice flour (1.08 g)
20 g arrowroot starch (.06 g)
71 g white bean flour (15.26 g)
7 g chia seed meal (1.47 g)
______________________

28 g instant dry yeast
7 g sea salt
3 g agar agar
177 ml water
10 g olive oil
4 ml agave syrup

Toppings

pizza sauce
oregano
mozzarella
pepperoni
black olives
your choice of toppings

1. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients from the durum-like flour mix, instant dry yeast and agar agar. In a small bowl, combine the liquid ingredients. Mix the liquid ingredients with the contents of the large bowl. Set in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the ingredients from the bread-like flour mix, sea salt and blend together. When the dough has finished rising, add the dry ingredients to the dough and blend well.

3. On a sheet of parchment paper sprinkle sweet rice or corn flour. Place a small bowl of either flour on the counter for sprinkling and dipping your fingers. Divide the dough in half, placing half in the center of the parchment paper. Sprinkle the dough with sweet rice or corn flour and as needed to work the dough. Gently press out the dough with your fingers until you have an even circle of dough.

4. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F/260 degrees C. Spread an even amount of pizza sauce over the top of the dough and sprinkle the top with oregano. Top with mozzarella cheese and any other topping you desire.

5. Bake pizza for 3 to 4 minutes or until the top is a golden brown around the edges. Cool before serving. Repeat steps 3 through 5 for the second ball of dough.

Vanilla Cognac Aebleskiver

Dorothy's sentiment, "There's no place like home!" is so very appropriate for us. We've been traveling quite a bit off and on for the last year. It always takes a little bit to get adjusted to being back home and not living out of a suitcase.

For the last two months, we've been in Florida helping my Dad care for my Mom who had a stroke in late October. I took over from my brother who went down when she was released from the hospital. He spent a month helping them with all aspects of their life and the logistics of physical and speech therapy and traveling to her various doctor's. When we arrived, I took over the running of the house and let my dad focus on her care, while together we negotiated the changes in her diet directed by her doctor (diabetes and GERD).

Her prognosis is wonderful. The doctor's were able to get to her within 20 minutes of the onset of the stroke and give her the stroke drug. Her neurologist believes that she will be back to her normal self at around six months from her stroke.

Our family and friends were absolutely fabulous and banded together to help us out. So many stopped by to sit and visit, drop off Christmas goodies or part of their citrus harvest (Meyer lemons, kumquats, naval oranges and grapefruit) and to give us a sholder to lean on.

Leaving them and coming back home was bittersweet, as we were torn between wanting stay and help and the need to get back to our home, however the shock of returning to a New York winter has us shivering in our shoes.

While getting settled back into the house we had an interesting discovery, every severe cold snap a mouse takes up residence and this one had a taste for fine chocolate. This mouse managed to find it's way upstairs into the kitchen pantry and was working it's way through a 1/2 pound block of bittersweet Callebaut chocolate. Obviously a mouse of discerning taste, it left all the other items in the pantry alone.

As you can guess that started me on a frantic cleaning frenzy and a purging of the pantry (just in case). While my husband donned his hunter persona and started stalking his wily rodent prey. A hunt that while successful, seems to be never ending as the temperatures drop at night making the little furry fellows seek out the warmth of our home.

With freshly washed and scalded cookware, I have started cooking and baking again. After reseasoning my aebleskiver pan, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to bake up several batches of these delightful and poppable breakfast delights.

This version is a bit sweeter than my version filled with spiced apples, and has the added richness of flavor from a Madagascar vanilla bean flavored French cognac. Needless to say, these didn't last long as my son tended to grab them by the handful and eat them like candy.

Recipe

1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup millet flour
1/4 cup chestnut flour
3 Tb sweet rice flour
2 tsp chia seed meal *
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 Tb agave syrup
3 egg yolks
1 1/3 cup almond milk, soured with 1 Tb + 1/4 tsp vinegar
1 Tb vanilla cognac
5 egg whites

Batter

1. In a medium bowl, dump in the flours, chia seed meal, soda, baking powder, salt and stir together.

2. In another medium bowl, pour in the agave syrup, egg yolks, cognac and soured almond milk. Then stir the ingredients together.

3. Pour the liquid ingredients in to the dry ingredients and stir together. Set aside while you beat the egg whites.

4. Plop the egg whites in to the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat the egg whites on high speed until it forms firm peaks. Fold the egg whites in to the aebleskiver batter until blended.

5. Preheat the aebleskiver pan and then grease the cups with oil. Pour 3 Tb of batter into the bottom of each cup and cook for 4 minutes.

6. Use bamboo skewers to flip each pancake upside down and cook another 2 minutes. Remove the aebleskivers from the pan and set on a plate to cool. Makes 18 aebleskiver. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with warm syrup and jams, jellies or curds.

* Substitutions: You can substitute 2 tsp flax seed meal or 1 tsp xanthan or guar gum for the chia seed meal.

Oat Flakes - Gluten Free

One of the recipes in The Professional Pastry Chef (Friberg, 2002) that I've been wanting to try is for a beautifully crisp cookie called Oat Flakes. The cookie spreads out while baking into an oblong shape. Once the cookie has cooled, you dip one end in dark chocolate. With the end result is a cookie that resembles a rolled oat.

Since I have a great fondness for oats. They find their way into many of the dishes I make at our house, such as Peanut Butter Sauce Pan Cookies, Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal, Pizza or Oat Milk. With my stock of certified gluten free oats recently replenished, it was time to give this cookie a try. The recipe called for very little wheat flour and could be changed to be gluten free easily. I also wanted to try making them with agave syrup rather than sugar in order to reduce the glycemic index of the cookies.

The cookies emerged from the oven a golden toffee color and smelled delightful. After the cookies had cooled, my children took over and had a great time dipping the cookies into the dark chocolate. We did leave some plain to see which ones we preferred. The four of us thought the chocolate covered cookies were delicious and were our favorite. We took to folding our cookies in half, so that every bite had some chocolate in it.

Recipe

1/2 cup + 1/2 tsp (128 g) melted butter
1 1/2 cup (155 g) certified gf rolled oats *
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup (234 g) agave syrup
5 1/2 tsp (16 g) brown rice flour
5 1/2 tsp (16 g) sweet rice flour
1 1/2 Tb (18 g) baking powder
1/4 - 1/2 cup Dark Chocolate, melted

Note: This recipe is reduced in size from the original.

1. In a large mixing bowl, pour in the melted butter and oats. Beat together on low speed. Dump in the egg and agave syrup and continue beating.

2. In a small bowl, combine the flours and baking powder. Stir together. Then add to the large mixing bowl and beat together.

3. Cover the mixing bowl and place in the refrigerator preferably overnight, but at least 4 hours.

4. Cover several cookie sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

5. Scoop out the batter into balls about the size of 1 tablespoon. Give the cookies room to spread. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes or until the entire cookie is a light toffee color.

6. Allow the cookies to cool and then set up. Then remove each cookie from the parchment paper and dip into the melted chocolate about halfway. Replace on the cookie sheet and allow the chocolate to dry, approximately overnight. Note: The cookies will still be somewhat soft after cooling.


* You can purchase certified gluten free oats from Cream Hill Estates, Gifts of Nature, Gluten Free Oats, Bob's Red Mill, Glutenfree.com and Glutenfreemall.com.

Prickly Pear Mesquite Mini Muffins - Gluten Free

aka "Desert Mini Muffins"

This past week my computer had to make the trek to the Dell Depot to be repaired. I planned ahead and got all the information I needed for the week, but still some things didn't quite work as I had intended. I'm not the best at working from a paper calender anymore and I found myself double checking all my appointments. I had challenges with email addresses, files and pictures.

Yesterday, my computer returned from it's solitary trek, riding up in the vibrant yellow and red truck of DHL. There was an immediate sigh of relief from everyone in the house. The kids were delighted it was back so they could battle virtual bad guys side by side. My husband was relieved as it was a computer lamb returning to his technology fold. As for me, I was thrilled my life could return to normal. I could put away the paper and say good bye to all my crumpled to-do lists.

While in my semi-lost state this past week, I wanted to create a muffin that would celebrate all the desert products I have in my pantry. I decided on creating Prickly Pear Mesquite Mini Muffins. Filled with prickly pear nectar, agave syrup, mesquite flour, pine nuts and chia seeds, the muffins are fragrant with a delicate sweetness and the tender crunch of pine nuts.

I discovered the first time I tested my recipe, that something was going on with my ingredient list that I hadn't known. The muffins baked up beautiful on the outside, but the insides were another story. They had an airy yet firm gelatinous texture. As it turns out, prickly pears have quite a bit of natural pectin in their skin and flesh. Interestingly prickly pears are good for lowering cholesterol, blood glucose levels, and has a future as a cancer chemopreventative food. Prickly pear fruit has fiber, calcium, magnesium, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin B-6 and potassium.

So, the chia seeds I had used as my binder weren't needed to hold the muffins together, the prickly pear nectar had enough pectin to do the job alone. However, I did want to use the chia seeds for the extra nutrition they would add to the muffins, although I had to be careful when I added them to the recipe to keep them from creating a binding gel. To keep the chia seeds from gelling much I added them to the recipe last. Then quickly poured the batter into the muffin cups and baked the mini muffins.

Recipe

2/3 cup brown rice flour
2/3 cup sweet rice flour
2/3 cup arrowroot starch
3 Tb mesquite flour*
1 Tb baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup prickly pear nectar*
1/4 cup gluten free oat milk**
1/4 cup melted vegetable shortening
1/4 cup agave syrup*
1 tsp chia seed, saved till last*

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and place out 36 mini muffin papers on a cookie sheet. Do not raise the temperature to cook the muffins faster, as the mesquite flour cooks quickly and can over cook causing a slightly burnt caramel flavor.

2. In a medium bowl, dump in the first seven dry ingredients and stir together.

3. In a medium bowl, dump in the egg, water, prickly pear nectar oat milk, melted shortening, and agave nectar. Stir together.

4. Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and quickly blend together. Sprinkle the chia seeds over the top and fold the seeds into the mixture.

5. Spoon the muffin batter into the muffin cups and cook for 25 minutes. Allow to cool before removing them from the muffin cups.

What did my family think of my prickly pear mesquite mini muffins? They were a hit with all of us. Although my husband and I liked them most when served warm. This one is a keeper.

* I purchased my prickly pear nectar from Native Seeds/SEARCH, but you can also find it at the Arizona Cactus Ranch. I purchased my chia seeds, agave nectar and mesquite flour from Native Seeds/SEARCH. My pine nuts came from Trader Joe's.

** To make oat milk: 1/2 cup of cooked gluten free oatmeal (rolled gluten free oats, water, salt) and 2 cups water, 2 Tb agave nectar placed into a food processor. Process until blended and refrigerate.

Upside Down Pear Pancake - Gluten Free

I have been looking forward to the arrival of the Seckel pears at our vegetable market. Picked just before they are totally ripe, so that you can allow them to develop to their peak flavor on your counter. Seckel pears are little gems of sweetness that are decadent enough on their own to be served as a dessert. However, since I had brought home several pints of Seckel pears, I wanted to do something different with them.


I settled on an upside down pear and vanilla pancake recipe from Epicurious.com, that I altered to be gluten free. I used ground Plantago (psyllium) seeds as my binding agent. Yes, you were thinking correctly, it is the same ingredient that allows Metamucil to do it's work. Some varieties of plantago are the weeds you try so hard to remove from your yard and are also beloved by some species of Lepidoptera larvae. It was believed to have been brought to the Americas by the Spanish and spread either through the sand used for ballast or from the soles of their boots.

Plantago seeds contain fiber, protein and triglycerides. Some people can have an allergic or asthmatic reaction to consuming plantago (psyllium seeds). If you decide you would like to use psyllium on a regular basis and take certain herbal supplements, vitamins or medications you should be aware that there might be some interactions, so make sure to check with your personal physician before using it.

Ground Plantago seeds make a wonderfully gooey gel. You can use it to bind together gluten free baked goods and at the same time increase the amount of fiber the baked good contains. Chef Bo Friberg notes that psyllium can be used as a vegetable based stabilizer for sorbets in his book, The Professional Pastry Chef. Would it work also work for gluten free baking? It was time for some kitchen chemistry.

In this recipe, I used 2 teaspoons of ground Plantago seeds soaked in 1 1/2 teaspoons of water to see if it had enough strength to hold the pancake together. As you can see from the above slice of pear upside down pancake, the gel held the pancake together and allowed me to remove a slice without crumbling.

To use Plantago seeds as a stabilizer you will need to grind them in either a spice or coffee grinder. They have an extremely hard outer shell which proved to be too hard for my small mortar and pestle. I purchased my Plantago seeds from Native Seeds/SEARCH.

Recipe

1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tb agave syrup
1/2 cup soured lite coconut milk*
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tsp ground psyllium (plantago) seeds, allowed to gel in the water
1 1/2 tsp water
4 Tb melted butter or coconut oil
1/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup sweet rice flour
1/3 cup arrowroot starch
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
5 ripe Seckel pears, peeled and sliced thin
Turbinado sugar to cover bottom of pan

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 10 inch pie pan with parchment paper.

2. Sprinkle just enough Turbinado sugar over the bottom of the parchment paper to cover it. Cover the Turbinado sugar with the thinly sliced Seckel pears and arrange in a circular or another pleasing pattern.

3. In a large bowl, dump in the first seven ingredients and stir together.

4. In a small bowl, dump in the flours, salt, baking powder and baking soda then stir together.


5. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the large bowl of liquid ingredients. Take care not to stir too much, only stir until it is just blended and stop. Pour the pancake batter over the Seckel pears in the pie pan.

6. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake 10 minutes more or until the center is firm when touched. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

7. Place your serving dish upside down on the pie pan. Holding both dishes tightly, flip them over so that the pie pan is now laying upside down on the serving dish. Remove the pie pan and set aside. Slowly peel the parchment paper off the pancake. Serve with warm maple syrup.

What did my family think of the upside down pear pancake? It was a hit with all of us. The kids liked it best when it was served with warm maple syrup. This recipe is a keeper.

*Note: To sour coconut milk, add 1 Tb of vinegar to 1 cup of coconut milk. For this recipe, you add 1 1/2 tsp vinegar to 1/2 cup coconut milk in order to sour it.

Agave Pumpkin Muffins

Since my family has type II diabetes I have been following a diet lower on the Glycemic index for several years. However, over the last six months I have begun to have episodes of reactive hypoglycemia due to my hypothyroid condition. This has meant I have needed to work on lowering the Glycemic index of the foods I eat, once again.

I have been altering my family's favorite recipes, replacing the sugar with agave syrup, because it is lower on the Glycemic index. One of the first recipes I chose to work on was pumpkin muffins, because my children adore them. I topped some of them with pine nuts and pumpkin seeds that my husband and I thoroughly and enjoyed.

Recipe

1/3 cup vegetable shortening
3/4 cup agave syrup
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup pumpkin (fresh or canned)
2/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup chestnut flour
1/3 cup arrowroot starch
1/3 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cloves or nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 tsp kudzu/kuzu powder (dissolved in water)
Optional: 1/2 cup chopped pecans, pine nuts or pumpkin seeds

Servings: 14 muffins

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and place 12 silicone muffin cups on a cookie sheet.

2. In a mixing bowl, dump in the vegetable shortening and cream it on medium speed. Pour in the agave syrup and mix.

4. Dump in the pumpkin and eggs, then beat on medium speed.

5. Slowly add the flours, baking powder, soda, spices, salt and water with kudzu dissolved in it. Mix on low speed just until blended. Pour batter into silicone cups.

6. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

What did my family think about pumpkin muffins made with agave syrup? My family thought they were delicious and ate them up in a few days. I thought they were fabulous and they didn't bother my reactive hypoglycemia at all.

Cinnamon Rolls - Gluten & Dairy Free

A Daring Baker's Challenge

The Daring Baker's have graciously allowed me to join their ranks. The idea behind the Daring Baker's is that we all make the same recipe, without any changes in order to challenge ourselves as bakers. There are certain exceptions to not making any changes though and the one that applies to me is needing to make changes in the ingredient list for a medical condition, allergies or intolerances, etc.

Many people who can't eat gluten have other health issues as well, such as allergies, other food intolerances, diabetes, thyroid problems, and more. As for me, I do fall into the category of having other health issues, such as an intolerance to dairy and soy, a mild intolerance to nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and peppers) and a new challenge in reactive hypoglycemia. For my first Daring Baker's challenge, I needed to make a few changes in the recipe, first I used agave syrup in the dough to reduce the sugar content, I used lite coconut milk instead of cow's milk, I used 2 packages of active dry yeast (gluten free), guar gum as a binder and I used a combination of gluten free flours.

This month's recipe challenge was for Cinnamon Rolls or Sticky Buns which comes from Peter Reinhart's book The Bread Baker's Apprentice. It is considered to be a classic on bread baking and was named a cookbook of the year in 2002 by the International Association of Culinary Professionals and the James Beard Foundation. Peter is a baking instructor for Johnson & Wales University and was a co-founder of Brother Juniper's Bakery in Sonoma, California. He has a new cookbook that came out in August called, Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor.

Cinnamon rolls and sticky buns find their origins in our ancient past beginning with the Egyptians, the Greeks and Romans, continuing into Medieval Europe and present day America. Modern day cousins to these ancient breads can be found in coffee cakes and galettes or with doughnuts and fritters. According to Dr. Ronald Wirtz from the American Institute of Baking, believes that cinnamon rolls owe some of their history to the English Chelsea Bun and German Schnecken.

The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Hebrews and Romans all knew and prized cinnamon which was considered fit for a royal gift. Where cinnamon came from was a mystery to the western medieval world, as it was brought to Egypt by Arab caravans. From there it was purchased by Venetian merchants who held a spice monopoly in Europe. When the trade routes were disrupted by the rise of other powers in the Mediterranean, many Europeans began the search for other ways to obtain spices. By the end of the fifteenth century Portuguese traders found Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and began a monopoly on the production of cinnamon that lasted one hundred years. By 2005, most of the world's cinnamon now comes from Indonesia. In the United States most of the cinnamon you purchase in a grocery store is actually cassia, a cousin of cinnamon.

Cinnamon rolls and cinnamon are part of our shared food history. When you make this recipe, you think of nothing other than their warm spicey goodness that is infinitely satisfying.

Recipe

4 1/2 Tb Agave Syrup
1 Tsp salt
5 1/2 Tb vegetable shortening
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp grated lemon zest of 1 lemon
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup sweet rice flour
1 cup arrowroot starch
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 1/2 tsp guar gum
2 packages gluten free active dry yeast
1 1/8 to 1 1/4 lite coconut milk

Cinnamon Filling

1/2 cup cinnamon sugar (6 1/2 Tb granulated sugar plus 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon)

Fondant Glaze

4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp lemon or orange extract
6 Tb to 1/2 cup warm lite coconut milk

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the vegetable shortening, agave syrup and salt. Pour in the beaten egg and the lemon zest. Stir until the mixture is smooth.

2. Slowly add the gluten free flours, guar gum, yeast and coconut milk. Stir until the the dough forms a ball. Then cover and allow it to sit at room temperature for approximately 2 hours.

3. Lay out a large piece of parchment paper on the counter. Pour out the dough into the center of the paper. Place another piece of parchment paper over the top of the dough. Using a rolling pin roll out the dough until it is in a rectangle (about 12 x 14 inches) that is 2/3rds of an inch thick. Don't roll the dough too thin or the rolls will break apart while they are resting and they will be a bit tough and chewy.

4. Slowly peel the top piece of parchment paper off the dough. Then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar recipe over the the rolled dough. Lift a long edge of parchment paper and ease over the edge of the dough until it begins to make a curl. Then slowly continue easing up the parchment paper until you have a long roll. Slowly peel back the parchment paper and using a sharp knife cut the dough with the seam side down into 12 to 16 pieces. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the rolls on the paper so that they are close, but not touching.

5. Allow the cinnamon rolls to rise for about 45 to 60 minutes or until it appears as though they won't rise anymore.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 20 to 30 minutes. Allow the rolls to cool for at least 10 minutes before glazing them so that the fondant doesn't melt off the rolls.

7. Fondant Glaze: Sift the powdered sugar into a large bowl. Add the extract and slowly add 6 Tbs to 1/2 cup of warm lite coconut milk. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved and the fondant is a thick smooth paste.

8. Using a spoon scoop out the fondant and slowly drizzle it over the cinnamon rolls.

What did my family think of the cinnamon rolls? All of us enjoyed the flavor of the rolls. The flavor of the fondant wasn't a hit with my kids. They would have preferred it to be flavored with vanilla. My husband said the next time I make these rolls, he'd prefer just a little drizzle of fondant. I agreed with him and decided that I'd make much less fondant the next time. In the end, could I eat the cinnamon rolls? I couldn't eat too much of the ones I had put fondant on, there was still too much sugar. However, I could eat a lot more of the ones without the icing.

Sourdough Pizza - Gluten Free

For thousands of years people around the globe have been eating flat breads with a variety of toppings or fillings. The Indians have paratha, the Germans have flammkuchen or tarte flambee for the French, but flat breads like pizza come from the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The ancient Etruscans, Greeks, Romans, Persians, and Turks all had their versions of flat bread. In the remains of Pompeii, archaeologists found the remains of shops that look like the modern pizzeria.

The most important innovation which led to the modern pizza was the addition of a fruit from the New World, the tomato. Brought back to Spain, the tomato was originally considered to be poisonous, but by 1540 it was in cultivation. The Spanish helped to spread the tomato across Europe, the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

By the late 18th century the poor people of Naples added tomato to the yeasted flat bread, creating the first pizzas. With the migration of Italians, the United States saw the first pizzas in the late 19th century. They were sold from street carts in Italian neighborhoods in large cities such as San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia and Chicago. By the end of World War II the popularity of pizza spread across the United States by returning veterans from the Italian campaign who developed a fondness for the bread.

Pizza was the first thing I thought of when I received my diagnosis for gluten sensitivity. My first attempts at making a gluten free pizza were not memorable. Time and experimentation have led to more successful gluten free pizza recipes, although to date this one is the best. The sourdough lends a soft and slightly tangy taste to crust. The crust turned out a crisp bottom that will allow you to hold and eat a slice of pizza. The gluten free flour combination and agave syrup provide a healthier crust that is also lower on the glycemic index.

Crust Recipe

1 1/2 cup Sourdough Starter
1/2 cup Brown Rice Flour
1/2 cup Corn Flour
1/2 cup Arrowroot Starch
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 Tb Olive Oil
1 Tb Agave Syrup
1/2 cup Water (dough may need 1 or 2 Tb more)
1 1/2 tsp Kudzu Powder, dissolved in the Water

Pizza Toppings

Pizza Sauce
Fresh Basil
Mozzarella Cheese
Sage Sausage
Any Topping You Like

Equipment Needed: A plastic or wooden spoon, a large glass, plastic or wooden bowl, pizza pan or pizza stone.

1. If you have a sourdough starter already, bring it out and let it come to room temperature. If you don't have a sourdough starter, then follow the directions on making a sourdough starter which is on my post for Sourdough Waffles.

2. In a large glass mixing bowl, dump in the first six ingredients and stir together.

3. Pour in the agave syrup and slowly start adding the water until the dough forms a moist soft ball. Depending on your baking conditions, you may need to add one or two tablespoons of water more to the dough.

4. Cover and place in a warm location for 1 hour to rise.

5. Cover a pizza pan with parchment paper. Pour out the pizza dough into the center of the pizza pan. The dough will be very soft and bubbly. Sprinkle corn flour over the top of the dough and dip your fingers into the flour to keep them from sticking. Pat out the dough into a circle using the corn flour as needed.

6. While the dough rests, preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and gather your pizza toppings.

7. Spread the pizza sauce over the top of the dough then sprinkle with fresh basil sliced into fine strips. Then place the mozzarella cheese around the top and sprinkle with sage sausage.

8. Bake for 15 minutes or until the top is slightly brown and the cheese is bubbly. Allow to cool and then slice.

What did my family think about this pizza? They all thought that this was the best gluten free pizza I had ever made. I agreed, the crust was light and soft and the bottom crisp. The slices held together beautifully while you held them to eat. This is a keeper.

Strawberry Cornbread - Gluten Free & Dairy Free

A native American fruit, strawberries are were known as "heart berries" by the tribes that harvested them. In Thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest, the first full moon in June became known as the Strawberry Moon by many Native American tribes.

Strawberries are known as the fruit of forgiveness, kindness and respect. Cherokee folklore says that the First Woman and First Man were angry with each other and harsh words were said. The First Woman said she was leaving and began to quickly walk away. Regretful for his anger, The First Man began to follow her, but the First Woman was walking too quickly. He appealed for help from the Creator to slow her down. The Creator hearing his plea and recognizing his remorse, placed a variety of different berries along the way, but she didn't slow down. So the Creator went to his garden and picked up some strawberry plants and placed them in front of the First Woman. The strawberries were so beautiful, that the First Woman had to stop and try them. Forgetting her anger, she began picking berries and began to wish for her husband. Turning around she began walking towards home. The First Man hurrying after his wife, was surprised and delighted to see her returning. Smiling, the First Woman shared a beautiful red strawberry with her husband. The First Man gave thanks to the Creator for helping him. The strawberries reunited the First Man and First Woman and remind us to be kind, loving and forgiving.

Corn was staple food among Native American tribes and during the strawberry harvest, the delicious berries would be added to the batter. One way the Iroquois tribe made cornbread was to make up a corn meal and boiling water batter and add strawberries. Then they would shape loaves and boil them in water until they were done.

The strawberries and corn have been abundant at my local vegetable stand this season. I wanted to create a recipe that would celebrate both of them and our Native American heritage. This recipe is gluten and dairy free, then sweetened with agave syrup rather than sugar.

The strawberry cornbread muffins are delightful served for breakfast. Served with a dollop of lemon curd and a hot cup of Rooibos tea, they are a fabulous way to start the day.

Would you like to participate in the Gluten Free Bread Baking Bonanza in honor of the World Day of Bread and National Celiac Awareness Month? What you need to do is bake a bread, take a picture and send your blog link to gluten a go go at gmail dot com. by October 1st. I'll post a round up of all bread recipes several days later. Happy Baking!

Recipe

1 1/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup + 2 Tb corn flour
2/3 cup + 2 Tb brown rice flour
2/3 cup sweet rice flour
1/3 cup almond meal
1/4 cup arrowroot starch
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 tsp kudzu powder, dissolved in coconut milk & water
2/3 cup coconut milk
1 1/3 cup water
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup agave syrup
1 cup strawberries, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and on a cookie sheet set out 24 silicone muffin cups or line a muffin pan with paper liners.

2. In a large measuring cup (4 cup), dump in the coconut milk and water. Stir to blend and use the spoon to break up any solid pieces from the coconut milk. Then add the kudzu powder and stir. Allow the mixture to sit and allow the kudzu to soften.

3. In a large bowl, place the first eight ingredients and stir together. Then add the vegetable shortening. Working the vegetable shortening into the dry ingredients until small crumbs form.

4. Stir the coconut milk, water and kudzu blend. Make sure the kudzu powder has dissolved into the liquid and there aren't any lumps left. Then pour in the eggs and agave syrup. Gently stir the liquids together.

5. Slowly add the liquid mixture in the large measuring cup to the flour blend in the large mixing bowl. Stir the mixture together. Then fold in the chopped strawberries. (Note: If you would like to have some plain cornbread muffins, make the recipe and don't add the strawberries. Pour the cornbread batter into 12 muffin cups. Then add the chopped strawberries to the remaining batter and then follow the rest of the recipe.)

6. Using a small measuring cup, scoop out the corn bread batter and dump into the muffin cups. Fill the cups until they are 2/3rds full.

7. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 to 27 minutes. Makes 24 cornbread muffins.

What did my family think about the muffins? My children voted for the plain cornbread muffins as they weren't crazy about the flavor of cooked strawberries. My husband and I thought they were fabulous. What a tasty way to start the day.

Cinnamon Carrot Muffins - Gluten Free

To kick off the Gluten Free Bread Baking Bonanza, I've made Agave Carrot Muffins. I'm holding the blogging event in honor of World Bread Day (October 16th) and October is National Celiac Awareness Month. Starting September 10th and going through October 1st, anyone may bake a gluten free bread, such as yeast, quick, popover, pizza, bagels, lefse, matzo and crackers. Take a picture, write a post about it on your blog and then send the link to gluten a go go at gmail dot com. I'll post a Bread Bonanza roundup message on Gluten A Go Go.

An update (9/13): If you would like to participate, but don't have a blog or web page, send your picture and recipe to gluten a go go at gmail dot com. I'll post your recipe on the blog.

If you are inspired, hold a gluten free bread event for charitable giving or fundraising for your favorite charity or the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA). Wrap your breads and include a copy of the recipe you used before giving them away, that way the person who enjoys your bread can make it for themselves. If you would like to have a fundraising event for the NFCA, you can also have a Gluten Free Cupcake Party with help from Pamela's Products.

Here are some wonderful gluten free recipes from last year's World Bread Day to help you get started, Brandon at Something in Season baked a delightful pumpkin bread, Hippy RN over at Food is Yummy! baked Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, and Rachel of Rachel's Recipe Box made a loaf of delicious gluten free bread.

This recipe was inspired by Bette Hagman's Spicy Carrot Muffins in Living Well Without Wheat. These are tasty muffins that are delightful for breakfast with tea or coffee.

Recipe

1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup arrowroot starch
1/4 cup rice bran
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup grated carrot
2/3 cup orange juice
2 tsp tapioca granules
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup agave syrup
2 eggs, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and place 12 silicone muffin cups on a cookie sheet.

2. Measure out the orange juice in a measuring cup and dump in the tapioca granules. Place in the microwave cook on low heat for approximately 30 seconds. Allow the orange juice mixture to sit while you put together the other ingredients.

3. In a large bowl, dump in the first ten ingredients and stir together.

4. In a medium sized bowl, pour in the orange juice, coconut oil, agave syrup, eggs and stir together.

5. Pour the liquid mixture into the carrot flour mixture and stir. Take care not to over mix the ingredients. Then spoon the muffin batter into the 12 muffin cups.

6. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

What did my family think about the muffins? My son didn't really care for the muffins, because carrots belong in things like chicken noodle soup. My daughter thought the muffins were okay, but she too wasn't so sure about carrots in bread. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed them and thought they were the best served warm with butter.

Chocolate Chestnut Cupcakes with Agave Cocoa Frosting - Gluten Free

I wanted to experiment with using agave syrup in a frosting, but I had some concerns about using that much liquid. Was it just going to run off the cupcake? How heat sensitive was it going to be? What kind of texture was it going to have? These were just a few of my questions. After doing some research, I decided to go ahead and try out my idea for gluten free agave cocoa frosting.

My recipe was inspired by the ingredient list at Babycakes Bakery in New York City, for their agave frosting. They note that their frosting is rather fragile in nature and cannot be shipped. I started with the basic ingredients and then added different things until I got an acceptable consistency in the frosting.

I used the Chocolate Chestnut Cake Mix from Dowd & Rogers for my cupcakes. This mix always turns out a beautiful deep chocolate cake that my family thoroughly enjoys. The cupcakes turned out beautifully and the agave cocoa frosting was light and delicate. Since the frosting has coconut milk in it and is soft in texture, you should store these cupcakes in the refrigerator.

Frosting Recipe

½ cup butter, coconut oil or coconut butter, softened
6 Tb cocoa powder
½ cup agave syrup
2 Tb chestnut flour
1 Tb sweet rice flour
1 Tb arrowroot starch
1 Tb coconut milk
1 tsp chia seed

1. In a small bowl, combine the chia seed and coconut milk, then stir together. Allow the mixture to sit for about 10 minutes. This will allow the chia seeds to form a gel. Once the gel has formed, you strain the gel to remove the seeds.

2. In the bowl to your mixer, plop in the butter or oil and cream on low speed.

3. Slowly pour in the cocoa powder and continue to cream together on low speed. Then scrape down the sides of the bowl.

4. Dump in the agave syrup, the flours and chia/coconut milk mixture. Blend on low speed. Once blended, scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure all the ingredients are blended together.

5. Scoop the frosting into a piping bag with a decorative tip to top your cupcakes or spread scoops of frosting on the tops with a knife.

What did my family think of the frosted cupcakes? My son didn’t care for the agave cocoa frosting, but loved the cupcakes. He thought the cocoa flavor was too strong. Vanilla is his preferred frosting flavor. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed the frosted cupcakes. My husband said, “Mmmmmmm…mmmmmmmm...mmmmmm” as he chewed away. I thought the cupcakes were wonderful and the frosting was a very good alternative frosting. It’s much softer than a frosting made with sugar, but it will firm up once refrigerated.

Agave Ice Cream with Saguaro Syrup

I've been working on replacing sugar in many of the recipes that my family enjoys. My home made ice cream is one of their favorites, so I wanted to see what would happen if I replaced the sugar with agave syrup.

When I added the agave syrup to the cream and egg mixture, the thickness of the liquid disappeared. Once it was blended in the ice cream maker, the mixture didn't whip up as high and fluffy as ice cream with sugar. It froze into a texture that was like ice milk and scooped nicely.

How did it taste? The ice cream had sweet fruity overtones and a hint of vanilla. We didn't miss the flavor or texture that sugar gives at all. My family thought this was a nice ice cream and one to keep around.

My husband and I tried topping our ice cream off with some saguaro syrup. The saguaro syrup (bahidaj) was a wonderful treat I got from my family for Mother's Day. They bought it from Native Seeds/SEARCH. Saguaro syrup is made from the fruit of the saguaro cactus. The Tohono O'odham tribe have been harvesting saguaro fruits for centuries. You can read more about they make saguaro syrup from this Tucson Weekly article.

Recipe

1 1/2 cups half and half
1 cup whipping cream
1 Tb vanilla
3 eggs
1/3 cup + 1 Tb agave syrup

Beat the three eggs in a large mixing bowl. Pour in the whipping cream and half and half then blend. Add the vanilla and agave syrup. You may need to scrape some of the agave syrup away from the bottom of the bowl.

Process the mixture according to your ice cream maker or ice cream attachment. For the Kitchen Aid ice cream attachment, process the mixture for 25 minutes. Transfer to a freezer safe container and allow it to chill for 3-4 hours before serving.

Enjoy!

Lemon Chia Seed Bread - Gluten Free

Early in the morning having a slice of a flavorful quick bread and a hot cup of coffee is like a warm hug. I find quick breads to be wonderful comfort foods as they bring back memories of happy times. Lately my husband and I have really enjoyed having a quick bread for breakfast, but we've been wanting a little more variety. I also wanted to use some of my other ingredients to see how they would work out. This is where the idea for Gluten Free Lemon Chia Seed Bread was born.

The ingredients that I wanted to use from my pantry were chia seeds and agave syrup. I have a bag of Chia Seed that I bought from Native Seeds/SEARCH. Chia Seeds are versatile in that they can provide gelling, fiber and Omega-3 oils. I wanted to see if I could substitute chia seed for another binding agent (kudzu powder, agar agar, xanthan gum). Agave syrup can replace sugar in a recipe, plus it is low on the Glycemic Index. It has the added benefit of being metabolized slower by the body. Agave syrup can replace sugar at 3/4 cup to 1 cup of sugar.

I started with my recipe for Lemon Poppy Seed Bread. Then I made my modifications and started my baking tests. The results were beautiful and the aroma...heavenly.

Recipe

1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup oat flour (Cream Hill Estates)
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup arrowroot starch
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup milk
2 Tb lemon juice
2 Tb chia seed
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup agave syrup
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp grated lemon peel

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.

2. In a small bowl, place the milk, lemon juice and chia seed. Allow the mixture to sit as this will give the chia seed a chance to begin gelling.

3. In a medium sized bowl, place the first six (dry) ingredients and blend.

3. In a mixing bowl put in your softened butter, agave syrup and blend. Add the eggs and grated lemon peel and blend again. Next add the chia seed mixture and blend. Then slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl. Mix until just blended taking care not to over mix.

4. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes. Then remove the bread and cover with aluminum foil. Return the loaf to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes or until a pick comes out clean. Allow to cool before serving.

What did my family think of Lemon Chia Seed Bread? My son, who is not a fan of lemons, didn't care for the bread at all. My daughter thought it was okay, but she'd rather eat a slice of fresh lemon than eat lemon bread. My husband and I thought it was wonderful. It was moist, flavorful and healthy too. The chia seed gel held the bread together beautifully and it wasn't crumbly. The agave syrup gave the bread a more complex fruity flavor. We thoroughly enjoyed it. This one is a keeper.

What about my test results for substituting chia seeds for another binding agent? Yes, you can use chia seed gel to replace another binder, such as kudzu powder or xanthan gum. The Lemon Chia Seed Bread has a nice texture and stays together when you hold it.